Macarons bring in a bit of foreign curiosity to the palate - they are light, crunchy, caramelesque. I thought I would share the detailed process that has yet to fail me. It's adapted from Mytartette.com's recipe, though I find it very, very sweet (I could never stomach more than 1!). I've also included tips to obtain those coveted feet.
Ingredients (serving size: 20-35 macarons)
90 gr of egg white
30 gr of granulated sugar
200 gr of powdered sugar
110 gr of almonds (whole, blanched, sliced, whatever)
(disregard the vanilla)Estimated time: 2 hours.
Step 1: Leave the egg white in a small bowl at room temperature for 24 hours (don't worry!). Cover with a lid or saran wrap to prevent bacterial growth. The process allows the egg white to thin and de-condense. After a day, the egg white has grown in volume and moves more like water as oppose to thick soupy clumps.
Step 2: Put the almonds and half the powder sugar into a food processor and blend until the almonds become a fine powder. Then sift the almond mix and sugar together until homogeneity. If you blend the almonds alone, the natural oil may cause it to clump together and this makes it harder to sift.
Step 3: In your stand mixer, whisk the egg white in a large bowl at medium-low until foamy and pale.
Step 4: Then beat at high speed as you slowly add the granulated sugar. The mixture should turn white and fluffy. Beat until you get stiff peaks - if you lift your whisk vertically up, the peak should stand upright. If it folds over (soft peaks), you need to beat more. Don't overbeat or else it'll be too dry. With the stand mixer, this took me 3 minutes, while an electronic beater has taken me 10-15 min.
The most technical part:
Step 5: With a spatula, fold the almond mixture into your meringue. I recommend folding half of the almond mixture first to ensure homogeneity. To fold, start at the point farthest from you and quickly circulate the outer periphery of the meringue while rotating your wrist clockwise; when you make full circle, draw/press the spatula towards you so you're dividing the meringue in half. Then turn the bowl a quarter of a turn. Repeat 5-7 times and then add the rest of the almond mixture. Fold until homogeneous and the texture becomes much like fluffy magma.
To test, lift up a bit with the spatula-- it should plop (not run) down slowly and then re-incorporate into the mass slowly. Over-folding causes the mixture to lose much of the air and make it runny. If it flows like lava down a mountain, you are close to over-folding it. The goal is to keep as much air as possible.Step 6: On parchment paper, pipe the mix in 1 inch circles on a baking sheet. Leave some room in between because it will spread slightly. If you over-folded, it will spread thinly.
Step 7: Preheat to 275-285F. During this time, let your macaron shells sit for 20-30 min. This allows the shell harden and prevent cracking so you can get those bubbly feet.
Step 8: Bake for 15-18 min. Afterwards, let them cool before trying to lift them off. You can sandwich them with a spoon of your favorite filling or store them in a airtight container in the fridge. Avoid any contact with moisture since it is mostly sugar.
And the end result! I think they go well with some hot tea and sunshine. :)
Other considerations:
- I have not attempted other flavors except for chocolate. If you want to add other flavors, use dry powdered ingredients like cocoa or matcha powder. Your extra ingredient + almond powder = 110 gr.
- Cracked shells: let them sit longer at room temperature (low humidity is the best). If cracking is persistent, you probably over-folded.
-No feet: you either over-folded, the egg white isn't ready, or your ratio of ingredients are off. It's very key to measure by weight -- the egg white in eggs can vary up to 50 gr!
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